OUT OF THE RODGERS CUP

Former world no. 1 Rafael Nadal has announced that he would not be able to participate in the Rogers cup next month. Nadal, who is currently ranked at no. 3 in the official rankings of WTA, tweeted that he needs a few more days to recover from his injury completely.  He has still not regained complete fitness and he doesn’t want to make a comeback without getting 100% fit. So, he decided to keep himself out of this tournament.

According to Nadal, he has always enjoyed a lot while playing in the Rogers Cup and he is disappointed that he would not be able to take part this season. But, he doesn’t want to take any risk with his injury. Nadal has won the Rogers Cup two times before. He had won his first Rogers Cup in 2005 when he had defeated the former American tennis legend, Andre Agassi, in the final by 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. Nadal won the Rogers Cup for the second time in 2008 when he had defeated the German player, Nicolas Kiefer, in the final by 6-3, 6-2. But, in the last season, he was not able to perform that well in the Rogers Cup and was knocked out of the second round by Ivan Dodig of Croatia.

Nadal has been struggling with his knee for quite a while now. He won the French Open in June, but, after that his performance has deteriorated. He was knocked out of the quarter final of Gerry Weber Open by Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Later in the Wimbledon Championship, he was knocked out of the second round by Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic. He also kept himself out of the London Olympics this year due to his knee injury. However, Nadal has said that he knee is getting better day by day, but, he would make a comeback only when he would get 100% fit.

Will Nadal see Gold?

One of the biggest sporting shocks this year was witnessing the Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal lose the second round of Wimbledon at the hands of 100th seed Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. After winning his first game in straight sets easily against Bellucci, no one could have predicted the outcome of the second round game, especially Nadal who was blown away by Rosol’s performance.

The crowd watched in awe as Rosol tamed the beast. Although Nadal secured the first set, Rosol dominated taking the second and third set and eventually the fifth set to write him a place in the history books. Rosol, who played out of his skin, and upped his game to an unbelievable level, looked astounded with his achievement, but no one looked quite as confused or stunned with the match result than Nadal himself.

Having had a fairly successful year, obtaining singles titles Roland Garros, Rome, Barcelona and Monte Carlo and doubles title Indian Wells, Nadal’s premature departure from Wimbledon was especially surprising. Now ranked at number 3; his lowest ranking since 2006, he must make an impact at the forthcoming London 2012 Games to remain in the top 3. With the tennis returning to the All England Lawn club, Nadal needs to rebuild his confidence and game strategy in order to prevent a Wimbledon repeat performance.

The Olympic Men’s Single Tennis event commences on 28th July, less than two weeks away. Due to his early exit from Wimbledon Nadal has had additional time to get prepared and back on form ready to do his Country proud and battle for the Gold.

NADAL MISSES DAVIS CUP

World number two Rafael Nadal will be the most notable absentee from the Spanish Davis Cup team that will start its defense of the crown against Kazakhstan in the Spanish city of Oviedo, where new captain Alex Corretja will have to field a new look side.

Corretja, who was appointed as the captain of the Spanish side after their win in the Davis Cup final last December against Argentina will not have any of the players who helped Spain lift the crown last year at his disposal.

Whereas Nadal has decided to rest ahead of the Indian Wells ATP Championships in California in March, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco as well as Feliciano Lopez have all pulled out of the tie citing fitness issues and fatigue in an Olympic Games year.

In the absence of all these star names, Corretja will have to count on veteran star Juan Carlos Ferrero and world number eleven Nicolas Almagro, who did not feature for Spain in any of their Davis Cup ties last year to pull through the match against Kazakhstan. However, Corretja believes that the absence of Rafael Nadal and the other stars from the lineup will not affect the Spanish side much as their reserves also have the capabilities to pull through the tie quite easily.

Juan Carlos Ferrero has been a former champion at the French Open and was one of the players who started the Spanish Revolution in the world of tennis long before Nadal had made a name for himself in the circuit. However, Rafael Nadal will be at court side, taking time out from his practice sessions in Mallorca to support the side as they attempt to add a sixth Davis Cup crown to their cabinet, with all five of their titles won after the turn of the millennium.